Friday, 9 September 2016

Germany’s Merkel says EU should keep negotiating with US on free trade deal

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the European Union should keep negotiating with the United States on a new free trade deal known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

The EU and the US are officially aiming to sign the deal before U.S. President Barack Obama leaves office in January, but there are now major doubts about it.

Merkel’s deputy, Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel – a member of the Social Democrats, junior coalition partner in Germany’s ruling coalition – unleashed a firestorm last month when he said the free trade talks are “de facto dead”. France and Belgium have cast doubt on the prospect of the new trade deal and scepticism is growing among Americans.